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The Pulse

2014 Washington Lobby Day Recap

by Kami S. on Friday, February 7, 2014

On Tuesday, January 28 in Washington, 30 You’re the Cure advocates made a big impression at the Capitol for AHA’s annual Lobby Day. Our advocates, including five board members from the Seattle/Tacoma area, heard issue briefings from the Department of Health and the Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition and then hit the halls to meet with their Senators and Representatives who all were eager to hear from us!

Advocates urged leaders to re-fund the proven-effective Washington Tobacco Prevention Program which currently does not receive one penny from the state’s tobacco tax revenue or Master Settlement Agreement payments. Advocates also asked legislators to support a number of childhood obesity prevention policies including Governor Jay Inslee’s new Healthiest Next Generation Initiative and Safe Routes to School.

Our advocates also asked legislators to support policies to improve access to healthier foods and beverages in schools through kitchen renovations to provide staff the infrastructure to prepare, store and serve more whole foods, and state-of-the-art hydration stations to provide clean, cold drinking water as a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages.

2014 Lobby Day was a great day and an important step toward securing heart-healthy policy wins during this legislative session. Thank you so much to all of those who joined us in Olympia, it is wonderful to see how many passionate advocates we have with us and you really do make a difference in what we can accomplish in making the state of Washington a healthier place to live!

We look forward to keeping you up to date with the latest happenings as the legislative session continues and hopefully report back with many wins coming out of the capitol on these issues. If you were unable join us on Lobby Day, please be on the lookout for future action alerts to let your voice be heard!